2014年職稱英語(理工類)教材閱讀理解文章及譯文7

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　　Sugar Power for Cell Phones

　　Using enzymes commonly found in living cells，a new type of fuel cell produces small amounts of electricity from sugar.If the technology is able to succeed in mass production，you may some day share your sweet drinks with your cell phone.

　　In fuel cells，chemical reactions generate electrical currents.The process usually relies on precious metals，such as platinum.In living cells，enzymes perform a similar job，breaking down sugars to obtain electrons and produce energy.

　　When researchers previously used enzymes in fuel cells，they had trouble keeping them active，says Shelley D.Minteer of St Louis University1.Whereas biological cells continually produce fresh enzymes，there’s no mechanism in fuel cells to replace enzymes as they quickly degrade.

　　Minteer and Tamara Klotzbach，also of St Louis University，have now developed polymers that wrap around an enzyme and preserve it in a microscopic pocket.“We tailor these pockets to provide the ideal microenvironment” for the enzyme，Minteer says.The polymers keep the enzyme active for months instead of days.

　　In the new fuel Cell，tiny polymer bags of enzyme are embedded in a membrane that coats one of the electrodes.When glucose from a sugary liquid gets into a pocket，the enzyme oxidizes it，releasing electrons and protons.The electrons cross the membrane and enter a wire through which they travel to the other electrode，where they react with.oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water.The flow of electrons through the wire constitutes an electrical current that can generate power.

　　So far，the new fuel cells don’t produce much power，but the fact that they work at all is exciting，says Paul Kenis，a chemical engineer at the University of Illinois2 at Urhana-Champaign3.“Just getting it to work.” Kenis says，“is a major accomplishment.”

　　Sugar-eating fuel cells could be an efficient way to make electricity.Sugar is easy to find. And the new fuel cells that run on it are biodegradable，so the technology wouldn’t hurt the environment.The scientists are now trying to use different enzymes that will get more power from sugar.They predict that popular products may be using the new technology in as little as 3 years.

　　詞匯：

　　enzyme/5enzaIm/n.酶 electrode/I5lektrEJd/n.電極platinum/5plAtinEm/n.鉑，白金 membrane/5membrein/n.膜，薄膜

　　electron/I5lektrRn/n.電子 oxidize/5Cksi7daiz/v.氧化degrade/di5reid/v.降解 glucose/5lu:kEus/n.葡萄糖

　　polymer/5pClimE/n.聚合物 biodegradable/7baiEudi5reidEbl/adj.能進行生物降解的

　　microenvironment n.微環(huán)境 embed/im5bed/v.埋置，插入

　　proton/5prEutCn/n.質子

　　試題

　　1. According to the first paragraph，when can we share our sweet drinks with our cell phones?

　　A When enzymes can be commonly found in living ceils.

　　B When the technology of producing a new type of fuel cell appears.

　　C When the technology of a new type of fuel cell is suitable for mass production.

　　D When the technology of mass producing cell phones appears.

　　2. What trouble did Minteer and Klotzhach have in their research?

　　A They had trouble keeping enzymes in fuel cells active.

　　B They had trouble keeping biological cells active.

　　C They had trouble producing fresh enzymes.

　　D They had trouble finding mechanism for producing enzymes.

　　3. According to Paragraph 5，electrons are released

　　A when bags of enzyme are embedded in the new fuel cell.

　　B when glucose from a sugary liquid goes through the enzyme.

　　C when the enzyme oxidizes the glucose from a sugary liquid that goes through

　　a pocket.

　　D when the enzyme oxidizes the sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.

　　4. What is exciting about the new fuel cells?

　　A Their limitless power generation capacity is amazing.

　　B Their limited power generation capacity is a good beginning.

　　C Their limited power generation capacity is the result of great efforts.

　　D Their limitless power generation capacity is a major accomplishment,

　　5. According to the last paragraph，what is NOT true of the new fuel cells?

　　A The new fuel cells run on sugar that is easy to find.

　　B The new fuel cells are environment friendly.

　　C The new fuel cells are biologically degradable,

　　D It will take some time before the new fuel cells can be used in popular products.

　　答案與題解：

　　1. C A和D明顯不是正確答案。B不是正確選擇，因為只有當這種新的燃料電池被大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)時，才有可能實現(xiàn)用甜飲料給手機提供電能。

　　2. A 文章第三段的第一句是問題的答案。

　　3. C 該段第二句“When glucose from a sugary liquid penetrates a pocket，the enzyme oxidizes it，releasing electrons and proton”中的it指代glucose，而不是a sugary liquid，因 此C是正確選擇。

　　4. B 第六段的大意是，盡管這種新型燃料電池還不能產(chǎn)牛很多電能，但是，它能夠產(chǎn)生電能的事實就已經(jīng)是很大的成就了。因而激動人心。所以只有B是正確答案。

　　5. D 文章的最后一段指出了這種新型燃料電池的優(yōu)點，即A、B、C所述內容。最后一句說，科學家預計，在不到三年的時間里這種新技術便可在大眾的流行產(chǎn)品中使用。所以D是正確選擇。

　　譯文：用糖為手機發(fā)電

　　一種新型燃料細胞通過利用活體細胞中很常見的酶能從糖中生產(chǎn)少量的電。如果這項技術能夠成功應用于大批量生產(chǎn)，人們可以與自己的手機分享甜飲料(因為糖可以發(fā)電供給手機 )。

　　燃料細胞中的化學反應能產(chǎn)生電流。這個過程通常依賴于貴金屬，比如鉑。在活體細胞中，酶發(fā)揮類似的作用，通過分解糖得到電子進而產(chǎn)生能量。

　　圣路易斯大學的 Shelley D。 Minteer說，以前研究人員在燃料細胞中使用酶時，很難維持酶的活性。生物細胞能不停地產(chǎn)生新鮮的酶，但燃料細胞中沒有能替換很快降解的酶的機制。

　　Minteer與同樣來自圣路易斯大學的 Tamara Klotzbach現(xiàn)在研制了一種聚合物，它能包裹酶并將其保存在用顯微鏡才能看見的袋子里。 Minteer解釋說：“我們改造袋子使其能為酶提供理想的微環(huán)境?！边@種聚合物能使酶保持幾個月而不是幾天的活性。

　　在新型燃料細胞中，裝有酶的微小的聚合物袋子鑲嵌在一張裹在一個電極上的薄膜里。含糖液體中的葡萄糖進入袋子時，酶將其氧化，釋放出電子和質子。電子穿過薄膜進入一根導線并通過這根導線到達其他電子。導線中的電子與大氣中的氧發(fā)生反應產(chǎn)生水。電子在導線中流動形成電流，電流能產(chǎn)生電能。

　　伊利諾斯大學 Urbana-Champaign校區(qū)的化學工程師 Paul Kenis指出，目前這種新型燃料細胞產(chǎn)生不了多少電能，但它們確實產(chǎn)生了電，這一事實令人激動。 Kenis說：“單是使它可以產(chǎn)生電能，就是一項大的成果。 消耗糖的燃料細胞有可能成為高效的發(fā)電工具。糖容易得到，而且消耗糖的新型燃料細胞可生物降解，因此這項技術不會損害環(huán)境。目前，科學家們正試圖利用別的能從糖中產(chǎn)生更多電的酶。他們預計，在不到三年的時間里這種新技術便可在大眾化的產(chǎn)品中使用。